文化祭、 発表会 Culture Festival and Recital

Friday was the bunkasai or culture festival at my base school in Aogaki. Whereas American schools usually have cultural events after school or only for part of the day (the only exception I can think of was the IA Olympics), a culture festival here can span from one to two days depending on the size of the school. Students put on a variety of acts, some of their own volition and others not. The PTA and school staff also join in the festivities by overseeing events or performing.

The taiko club invited me to play with them for the festival about two weeks ago, so I took up the offer. I played two of the simpler songs with them for the opening ceremony. Some of the kids are half asleep in class sometimes, but they're really energetic when they're doing what they love. I got to wear a happi coat and braided headband and the kids got me to put some styling wax in my hair (and then the second conversation of the week about the differentness of my hair ensued. The day before some first years were surprised to see that I had blonde eyelashes and eyebrows.)

There was also a rock band, a tea ceremony, lots of food, mothers who wanted their middle schoolers to speak a bit of English with me, calligraphy and arts and crafts displays, and conversation with people here and there. I also got roped into judging the choruses, which gave me the opportunity to talk with the principal and vice principal (two new words : seikatsu　生活　（daily life) and shi 詩 poetry).

Then today there was a recital at the elementary school down the street. About a week and a half ago the little girl next door ran over with a letter in an envelop inviting me to the happyoukai or recital.

So, today, early on a Saturday morning I went over to the school. The gym was full of parents and grandparents and the usual line of video cameras lined up in the back. There were art displays on the walls and reports about animal and plant life in the river (I was pretty geeked about all the plants). The principal came over and introduced himself (of course he knew who I was). Elementary goes from first to sixth grade here and each class did their own presentation, usually of a musical nature, though the older kids did reports about the history of the town and history of animal and plant life in the river. The staff and PTA also had their own performances and used the chance to give the kids (and audience) some good laughs. Parents dressed up at Anpanman or in drag and danced to the theme from Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. One staff member even acted drunk of stage (while holding an Asahi beer can as a prop). Definitely not the type of humor you'd see in an American elementary school, but good times were had by all.

At the end there was a performance by a musical group that the school had invited. They had some African percussion, a pianist, and two singers do a musical version of a children's book called Tomodachiya, which is about a fox who goes around selling one hour of friendship for 100yen (so far as I could understand). But the best part was when they brought out the Austrian they had been hiding behind stage and he played several pieces on accordian, which the kids got a real kick out of.

Afterwards I got to flex my German muscles (my brain cannot handle two languages at once and I kept saying little filler words in Japanese). Turns out one of the Japanese members of the troupe had studied in the Netherlands and had met the accordianist in Vienna and each year he returns to Japan to play in Tamba City and other places in Japan. It was great to be able to speak a language that I am almost fluent in, be understood, and understand those talking to me! And who would have thought I'd be able to that in little Aogaki? Of course, if this were a bigger city I wouldn't have great neighbors to invite me to different events and I'd never get to speak in person with all these interesting people. The accordianist, whose name is Alexander Chevchenko (as translated from the katakana flier), has a concert in Osaka, but I sadly cannot make it, as it is on Wednesday.

What a great day! :)